Norther Offshore Wind Farm

Norther is an offshore wind farm to be built in the Belgian North Sea, within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Belgium, approximately 23 kilometres from the Belgian port of Ostend. The concession was granted at the end of 2009, which is when the actual development of the project began.

The wind farm will comprise 44 Vestas V164-8.4 MW turbines on monopile foundations for a nameplate capacity of 369.6 MW with a projected annual production of 1,394 GWh, corresponding to a capacity factor of 43.1% and the average consumption of almost 400,000 households. The wind farm will span an area of 38 km² with water depths up to 33 m.

The Norther offshore wind farm is developed through a 50-50 joint venture between Elicio NV, a Belgian renewable energy producer operating internationally, and the Dutch utility company Eneco, who is a major producer and supplier of renewable electricity, natural gas and heat in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Offshore wind is expected to be a key pillar of Belgium's future energy mix and is projected to represent around 10% of total generated electricity by 2025. Norther Wind is expected to be commissioned in 2019.